Category:Knife

KNIFE (short blade)

Weight: ~0.5 kg

Rank(s): 1st row

A knife consists of a single-edged, pointed blade with a handle mounted asymmetrically. It is an early weapon, used even by primitive tribes. In these cultures, a knife is little more than a flint blade with one or two cutting edges.

Bone knives are little more than a sharpened piece of bone, often decorated in the same way as daggers. Like other bone weapons, bone knives are apt to shatter.

True knives appeared when man began using alloys such as bronze. A knife was cast from a single piece of bronze, with a single straight edge or slightly curved blade. The curvature is often accentuated near the point.

When man began using iron, knife handles went through a change. The malleability of iron made it easy to create and keep a sharp edge, while also enabling the maker to extend the blade into a flat tang, which was then covered with sidepieces of wood, bone, or horn. This made the handles easier to decorate. In primitive civilizations, knives are used as an all-purpose tool, on the hunting grounds, and as a tool of sacrifice.

Different forms of knives may be found among the different peoples who depend heavily on this useful tool. Small knives are made for domestic uses, longer knives for hunting and war.

Small knives exhibit their own evolution, resulting in the common man's small knife with a four-inch blade and a plain handle of bone or horn. The more influential citizen may have a knife with a handle of rock crystal or other stone, enclosed in a precious metal. Despite the great value of these knives, they are not as effective in combat as the larger knives.

Non-domestic knives, or outdoor knives, have stronger blades and sharper points. They are carried in their own sheaths, or in the scabbard of a larger weapon, such as a sword, creating a specialized set.

In some areas, knife makers are prohibited from selling knives with leaf-shaped blades. Such decrees are an effort to prevent such knives from being carried casually. The leaf shape causes a large, gaping wound that bleeds heavily.

Some skill(s) usable with the weapon:

Battlecry, Bladed fury, Bloodlust, Cardiac stimulation, Damn armament, Lure, Pierce, Short blades, Stab and Vampiric blow.

See also:

Cutlass, Dagger, Foil, Knife, Main gauche, Poker, Rapier, Sai, Scimitar, Short sword and Wakizashi.